Showing Out

Oh geez. As if the name of the lead single off T-Pain’s forthcoming album rEVOLVEr wasn’t bad enough, now we get the visuals for it. Above is the video for the track, which previously featured Young Jeezy but doesn’t seem to include him anywhere in the clip. But we will give credit to Teddy Penderazz for this one, which features some dazzling visuals of T-Pain’s dreads flying through the air and drops of water splashing in slow-mo. And not only that, but you have to hand it to him for doing so much with so little. Who knew that a champagne flute filled with red balls shattering could look so dazzling. Put this one on mute and enjoy.

We had the privilege of hearing this track back in October when we got an advance listen to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s upcoming reunion album Uni5: The World’s Enemy, and now, we get the visual for it. Following the release of their recent video for “Rebirth,” the quintet gets all introspective and emotional on “Meet Me in the Sky,” which sees them traveling through space in this finely produced clip. There isn’t much that actually takes place throughout the video, but this one isn’t about the action. The guys sing about flying high in the sky and looking down on the world from above, a nice heavenly sentiment to match the vibe of the joint. And if you don’t already know, be sure to cop this joint when it hits retail on April 20th. Necessary cop-age.

Some more Michael Jackson news for you this fine day. After news broke that a new MJ documentary was on the way, another piece of knowledge dropped care of “Thriller” music video director John Landis, who says he’s got some plans to re-release the video in 3-D. In an interview with CHUD, Landis stated that the hourlong doc “The Making of Thriller,” in addition to the remastered video, would soon be released. But the news that caught our attention was that the Jackson estate has intentions to re-release “Thriller” in 3-D, with no announced plans on whether or not it would be released on the big screen or on 3-D TV. If this actually goes through, then the world can finally see this video in the format in which it always should have been seen. Gotta love technology.

Last time Snoop Dogg was in a movie, his music made a cameo in the teen horror flick Jennifer’s Body. Now, he’s going to erase that bad memory with a mini-movie of his own. In the above trailer, you can get a good look at his upcoming mini-film Malice in Wonderland: The Movie, which is set to be included on the re-release of his album Malice in Wonderland titled More Malice. The film is set to premiere on BET and Spike TV on March 24th, with its Hulu premiere to take place next week, giving viewers multiple platforms to see Snoop assume the form of a superhero. The flick, which features guest appearances from Jamie Foxx, Xzibit, Nipsey Hussle, looks like it’s going to be a mess. A beautiful mess.

Making his fourth debut at number one throughout his lengthy career, Ludacris tops the chart this week with his new gender-themed album Battle of the Sexes. The Def Jam artist sold an impressive 136,010 units, which was enough to edge out Gorillaz to number two, where they debuted with Plastic Beach, selling a healthy 110,798 copies in their first week. Meanwhile, the Jimi Hendrix Experience bowed at number four with 87,074 copies sold, while country star Gary Allan landed at number five with 66,401 copies sold of Get Off on the Pain. Sade dropped from two to six with Soldier of Love, moving an additional 55,005 copies, with Lady Gaga still going strong at number seven with another 48,379 copies sold of her debut The Fame. Black Eyed Peas dropped a spot from eight to nine with The E.N.D., shipping 42,852 units, and Weezy F. Baby moved up from 13 to 12 with 28,374 copies sold of his Rebirth album. That’s about as exciting as it gets this week, which says a lot about the state of contemporary music right about now.

Haven’t heard much on the Michael Jackson tip in a minute, but based on a report from the Wall Street Journal, you’re going to be hearing a lot more of him in the near future. According to the paper, MJ’s estate and Sony Music have struck the most lucrative record deal in the history of the music industry, with the label ponying up roughly $250 million, with 10 albums planned to be released over a period of seven years. For those that think think Sony must be on that wack juice for throwing over this kind of money, the label has reportedly sold more than 31 million copies of MJ’s albums since his death last June and have made more than $250 million from album sales alone, figures that are bound to remain rather steady over the next few years. And not only that, but the Jackson estate will most likely be able to pay off the $250 million debt by the end of the year, so everyone’s winning in this sitch. Just don’t be surprised if, when you walk into Best Buy next year, MJ mania will have taken over - for like, a fifth time.

Let’s face it: New York rap has fallen off in recent years. And over the past few years, East Coast rap fans have been waiting for the one track to put NYC back on the map. Lloyd Banks has done just that, catching the unexpected hit “Beamers, Benz or Bentley” with a little assistance with Dipset’s own Juelz Santana. Now, the two team up for a music video for the anthem, a clip that, though it doesn’t necessarily bring NY back, it does a good job of at least promoting the one track that has the potential to put it back on the map. Hit the play button above and ride out, regardless of whether or not you’re down for the cause.

Trina has been pretty silent recently, but she’s gearing up for the release of her upcoming album Amazing with the big ballin’ video for her lead single “Million Dollar Girl.” The Diamond Princess grabs Keri Hilson and Diddy and hits the hangar for a plane-themed clip, which is basically an ode to all things that fall into the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Though there’s nothing special to write home about here, the clip is relatively sheen and gorgeous, a nice prelude to what we can expect on the upcoming release (which features guest appearances from Trey Songz, Monica, Nicki Minaj, Lady Saw and a handful of others). Look out for this joint when it drops in the next few months.

Everyone seems to be putting their own spin on Lloyd Banks’ unexpected hit “Beamers, Benz or Bentley,” so it only make sense that someone would make the more recession-friendly version of the track. Joell Ortiz happens to be that dude, enlisting the Capo for his new joint “Nissan, Honda, Chevy” for which they just shot the video care of director Dawud Gaston. With some nifty color correction, the clip is a basic tales-of-the-street type of clip, showing a drug deal gone wrong when some plainclothes cops put down the sting. Hit the play button and ride out to this one - anything is better than a Lloyd Banks version of anything.

If you were one of the many unfortunate souls who didn’t happen to score a ticket to Black Eyed Peas’ current “The E.N.D. World” Tour (though there’s still a good chance you can - it runs until the end of August), then dry those eyes. According to THR, a film of the concert will screen in 500 movie theaters nationwide beginning on March 30th, giving you a chance to see Fergie in her hi-def glory. The event is being brought to your local cinema care of Fathom Events, who taped the show at Los Angeles’ Staples Center in addition to nabbing 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews to tack onto the film. Though you probably won’t get to see any footage of opening acts LMFAO and Ludacris, you know it’ll be worth it just to see the gleam of will.i.am’s diamond-studded jacket on a giant screen.